Many types of bruiseable fruits and vegetables are sold in bags with a pre-printed weight. Such fruits and vegetables include apples, oranges, avocados, pears, onions, and the like. Apparatus for weighing and sorting such fruit or vegetable articles have been described before. Such apparatus typically has a continuous conveyor carrying a plurality of pivotable cups. Each cup receives an article of fruit or vegetable in a loading zone from a supply of articles. The cups pass in sequence over a scale in a weighing zone to determine the weight of the article in each cup. The cups then pass in sequence through a discharge zone. Each article selectively discharges at an appropriate discharge station to group together articles of similar weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,877 describes a weight sizing apparatus having a plurality of discharge stations. An article discharges at a station onto a take-away conveyor which carries the article with others having a weight in the selected range for packing. To reach the take-away conveyor, the article drops onto a deflection ramp having a soft surface to cushion the fall of the article. The ramp directs the article to the take-away conveyor for grouping with other articles. This sorting apparatus has the disadvantage of subjecting the article to a free-fall, and unnecessarily risks bruising or otherwise damaging the article.
One known apparatus for sorting fruits and vegetables utilizes a fabric flap to transfer more gently a selected article from a cup attached to the continuous conveyor onto the take-away conveyor for its selected group. The fabric flap is held on a rod connected normal between two parallel continuous conveyors. The apparatus includes a plurality of the flaps and the rods which are spaced apart between the conveyors. The rods travel in a horizontal plane below the cup. The take-away conveyor is disposed below the continuous conveyor carrying the cups and articles for sorting. Each cup receives an article in a loading zone from a supply of articles. Instruments such as an optical sensor scan each article from several angles to classify the property of the article. The classified articles pass through the discharge zone. The article discharges from the cup at a selected discharge station according to the classification of the article. The cup carrying the article pivots upward to move the article from the cup toward the adjacent fabric flap. During discharge, the fabric flap falls into the receiving area. The fabric flap cushions the transfer of the article to the take-away conveyor. The conveyor continues moving, pulling the fabric flap from the receiving area so that the article rolls off the fabric flap onto the take-away conveyor. Thus, an apparatus is provided for sorting articles into groups while reducing the damage to the article from handling.
However, it has not been possible to use fabric flaps attached to rods connected between parallel conveyors in an apparatus which sorts the articles by weight. The scale occupies the space in which the rods would travel. The scale in a weighing and sorting apparatus has a square U-shape defined by a cross member and two upright parallel rails. The article-holding cup travels on the upper cam surfaces of the rails when the article is weighed. The cross member connects to a load cell, as is well known in the art, with appropriate instrumentation for determining the weight of the article. In a sorting apparatus using fabric flaps, the rods holding the fabric flap connects between the conveyors. The rods, disposed vertically below the article-carrying cup, travel in a horizontal plane. If a scale were present, the rails would extend through the plane in which the rods travel as moved by the conveyor. The rails accordingly would block the passage of the rods and prevent the conveyors from passing through the apparatus.
Therefore, there remains a need in the art for an improved apparatus for sorting articles by weight which also reduces damage to the articles by discharging selected articles onto fabric flaps to cushion the transfer of the articles into groups.